harry



Febc 9, 1960 H. A. HARRY WINDOWASSEJMBLY Filed Oct. 51, 1957 INVENTOR. H. A. HQRRV ATTORNEY Haired States PatentO WINDOW ASSEMBLY Henry A. Harry, Highland Park, Ill.

Application October 31, 1957, Serial No. 693,679

2 Claims. (Cl. 16-172) This invention relates to a window assembly and mounting and more especially to a novel lightweight hinged window structure embodying improved hinge or hanger means.

In a typical installation in which the improved assembly is used in a window opening, the assembly will be hung from its upper edge portion by hinge means mounted on the upper framing element or its equivalent that defines the window opening and in this respect it is a significant object of the invention to provide a hinge means which not only mounts the window for swinging about a horizontal axis for opening and closing but also permits the assembly to be hooked in for installation and to be unhooked for removal. This phase of the design features a novel hinge embodying a hanger or hinge trough readily mounted on the framing element 'and a window carrier having a hanger or hinge tongue that hooks downwardly into the trough, plus removable stops operative to prevent unhooking of the tongue from the trough while still enabling swinging of the window.

Other objects and features inherent in and encompassed by the invention will appear from the ensuing description of a presently preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the several figures of which are described immediately below.

Figure 1 is a perspective of a representative installation.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section on the line 22 of Figure 1.

As seen best in Figure l, the numeral represents the upper horizontal framing element which combines with side elements 12 and a bottom or sill element 14 to frame or define a window opening O, as in a building or comparable structure. It should be understood that the illustration is representative only and that the framing elements may be steel, wood, brick, stone or any equivalent structural material.

The window structure is designated as a whole by the numeral 16 and is installed in the window opening via a horizontal top hinge means 18 made up of an elongated horizontal support 20 and an upper parallel window carrier or frame member 22. The support 20 has an integral lower marginal portion directed rearwardly and upwardly to afford an elongated horizontal hanger or hinge trough 24 which receives a hinge or hanger tongue 26 formed as an integral upper marginal portion of the carrier 22. The member or'support 20 and its integral trough 24 preferably comprise a metal extrusion, aluminum being preferred, and the main or web part of this extension is flat and upright to present front and rear faces 28 and 30, the latter of which abuts the front of the framing element 10 (Figure 2). The support has a plurality of apertures 32 for receiving fasteners, such as screws 34 which are screwed into the framing element 10 to afford means for aifixing the support to the top of the window opening.

Since the support 2% depends from the framing element 10, the trough 24 will be below the element, as will of course the hinge tongue 26, which two parts make up the hinge means 18. As will be noted, the hinge tongue 26 hooks forwardly and downwardly into the trough and consequently the trough should be spaced sufficiently below the framing element 10 to allow enough vertical movement of the window structure 16 so that hooking and unhooking of the window structure may be effected in mounting and dismounting the window as respects the opening 0. For example, in installation, the support may be leveled and mounted and the window unit subsequently hooked into place. As will be further noted, both the trough 24 and the tongue 26 are of rounded section to afford a simple and efficient hinge at 18 so that the window may swing fore and aft or be opened and closed about the longitudinal axis of the trough. Retention of the hinge function while preventing inadvertent unhooking of the tongue is achieved by detachable stop means, here a plurality of stops or clips 36 removably secured as by bolts 38 to the carrier 22 beneath and normally engageable with the underside of the trough 24, These stops are shaped in part to corn form to the trough and are short enough in arcuate length to permit sufficient swinging of the window structure between closed and open positions. These stops are readily installed or removed while the Window structure is suspended by the hinge means 18. The specific relationship of these stops to the carrier 22 will be detailed below.

The carrier 22 is here shown as a one-piece element, likewise preferably an aluminum extrusion made up of an upper marginal portion 40, with which the tongue 26 is integral, and front and rear depending walls 42 and 44, respectively, which define a downwardly opening horizontal upper groove 46 for receiving the upper margmal edge of a window panel 48, as will be presently explained. The rear wall 44 is vertically coplanar with the marginal upper portion 40 of the carrier and the front wall 42 is spaced ahead of said re n; wall but continues upwardly and rearwardly as an inclined top wall 50 overlying or defining the top of the groove 46 and being spaced just below the hinge 18 by an amount sufficient to accommodate the stop clips 36, which are V-shaped as seen in elevation (Figure 2). The forwardly and downwardly slope of the top wall 50 enables it to shed water as well as providing space for the clips 36.

The panel 48 is here shown as a commercially popular type of verticallycorrugated translucent plastic; although, it could broadly be of any type or material. Since its upper marginal edge is received in the groove 46, this groove is made wide enough in its fore-and-aft dimension to accommodate not only said marginal edge but also an upper resilient seal means, here in the form of an elongated rubber strip 52 having a straight front side 54, contacting the back of the front wall 42 of the member 22, and a sinuously configured rear side contacting the panel 48 and matching the corrugations therein, it being noted that the rear face of the panel contacts the front face of the rear wall 44 of the member 22. The strip 52 has upper and lower marginal flexible lips 58 at its sinuous side to improve the sealing contact with the panel 48, since these lips are more yieldable than the body of the seal and thus readily accommodate irregularities and variations in pitch of the panel corrugations. Suitable fasteners, here metal screws 60 receiving a metal washer 62 and a rubber washer 64, pass through the walls 42 and 44, seal 52 and panel 48 to mount the panel upper marginal edge in the member 22.

The lower marginal portion of the panel 48 lies ahead of a lower frame member 66 that parallels the upper member 22, and the two members are interconnected by vertical rear members 68. There may be several members 68, depending upon the width of the window, and these members, having apertured flanges, as at 72, may be connected in .side-byaside relation as when assembling several window sections such as that shown here at 16.

The extreme end members have flanges 78 which overlap end parts of the panel 48.

The lower member 66, like the member 22, may be an aluminum extrusion, having a top flange 82, a depending front lip 84 and a front mounting pad portion 86, the latter being spaced ahead of the plane of the lip 84 to form a drain gutter 88 having apertures 90. The front face of the pad 86 is straight and receives the straight back side of a lower seal 94 like the upper seal 52 but reversed as to position and having its sinuously configured side at the front so as to contact and match the corrugations at the rear face of the panel 48. This .seal, again like the upper seal 52, has flexible lips 98 at its sinuous side and for the purpose described above. Screws 100 pass through the panel 48, seal 94 and member 66 to secure the lower part of the panel. As best seen in Figure 2, the level of the top part of the seal 94 is at the top of the mounting pad 86 and thus is at the top of the gutter 88. Condensation running down the inner or rear face of the panel 48, runs over the seal and into the gutter and ultimately drips out through the gutter drain holes 90. These holes are ahead of the front lip 84 of the member 66 and thus lead outside rather than inside the window opening 0.

As will be seen, the window unit 16, in addition to being easily assembled, is just as easily installed via the hinge means 18, incorporating the support 20 and upper window carrier or frame member 22 and their respective trough 24 and hook tongue 26.

Other features and advantages will of course suggest themselves to those versed in the art, as will variations in and additions to the preferred structure disclosed, all of which may be achieved without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimedis:

1. Means for hingedly suspending a window assembly at least in part within a window opening defined at its top by a horizontal frame element having a front and a bottom, comprising: an elongated horizontal support mounted on and paralleling the element and having an upper flange overlying the front of the element and a lower portion depending below the bottom of the element and running lengthwise thereof and directed rearwardly and upwardly as a terminal lengthwise lip providing an elongated horizontal upwardly opening trough offset below the bottom of the element and ofiset tothe rear of the front of the element; an elongated window carrier below and paralleling the element and support and having an upper marginal portion running lengthwise thereof and directed upwardly behind and above the lip and then forwardly and downwardly into the trough as a hinge tongue suspending the carrier for fore-and-aft swinging between open and closed positions about the lengthwise axis of the trough, said lip being further ofiset below the bottom of the element so that a clearance area is provided between the top of the lip and the bottom of the element to enable upward unhooking of the tongue from the trough, and said trough and tongue being so constructed as to enable said fore-and-aft swinging of the carrier normally without unhooking of said tongue from said groove; depend ing means on and running lengthwise of the carrier and including a rear wall rearwardly of and at a level below the trough, a top wall directed forwardly beneath and spaced below the trough a distance sufiicient to provide a space permitting the aforesaid upward unhooking of the tongue from the trough, and a front wall joined to and depending from the top wallin forwardly spaced relation to and combining with the rear wall to provide a downwardly opening, horizontal, window-receiving groove; a plurality of stops positioned lengthwise of the carrier in the aforesaid space between the underside of the trough and said top wall and projecting forwardly beneath and normally engaging the trough from below for normally preventing unhooking of the tongue from the groove while permitting said fore-and-aft swinging of the carrier; and means removably securing said stops to the carrier exclusively of the element and exclusively of the support except for said normal engagement of the stops with the underside of the trough.

2. Means for hingedly suspending a window assembly at least in part within a window opening defined at its top by a horizontal frame element having a front and a bottom, comprising: an elongated horizontal support mounted on and paralleling the element and having a lower portion depending below the bottom of the element and running lengthwise thereof and directed rearwardly and upwardly as a terminal lengthwise lip providing an elongated horizontal upwardly opening trough offset below the bottom of the element and offset to the rear of the front of the element; an elongated window carrier below and paralleling the element and support and having an upper marginal portion running lengthwise thereof and directed upwardly behind and above the lip and then.forwardly and downwardly into the trough as a hinge tongue suspending the carrier for fore-and-aft swinging between open and closed positions about the lengthwise axis of the trough, said lip being further 0&- set below the bottom of the element so that a clearance area is provided between the top of the lip and the bottom of the element to enable upward unhooking of the tongue from the trough, and said trough and tongue being so constructed as to enable said fore-and-aft swinging of the carrier normally without unhooking of said tongue from said groove; depending means on and running lengthwise of the carrier for supporting a depending window, said depending means having portions thereon providing therein and lengthwise thereof a forwardly facing groove below and paralleling the underside of the trough, said depending means portions being spaced below the trough a distance sufiicient to permit the aforesaid unhooking of the tongue from the trough; stop means positioned in said groove and projecting forwardly beneath and normally engaging the trough from below for normally preventing unhooking of the tongue from the groove while permitting said fore-andaft swinging of the carrier; and means removably securing said stop means to the carrier exclusively of the element and exclusively of the support except for said normal egagement of the stop means with the underside of the trough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,138,816 Holt et a1. Dec. 6, 1938 2,565,200 Burress Aug. 21, 1951 2,589,924 Braybrook Mar. 18, 1952 2,658,233 Kimmel Nov. 10, 1953 2,694,841 Persson Nov. 23, 1954 2,776,460 Bottom Jan. 8, 1957 2,799,890 Stavich July 23, 1957 

